I have a problem with my water heater. Basically, when I turn the water heater on, it trips the electric supply to the property. This probably means that there is an electrical short somewhere. The water tank has an external component which is where the power supply goes in. I think this is either the element, or some sort of external pump. The system is quite old and don't have the money to pay for a plumber to come and fix it so I'm gonna have a go myself.
Hopefully someone can help, thanks.
Stephen

I presume that what you have is an immersion heater (round top, about 2" in diameter and 2" high)

Well the good news is, that they are not expensive, about Â£15......

The tricky bit is getting the old immersion heater out of the cylinder as they can become 'siezed up' over the years.

If the heater is fitted in the top of the cylinder you will need to drain a gallon or two of water out , if it's at the bottom of the cylinder you'll have to drain the whole thing before you can remove it...

An immersion heater box spanner is the most effective tool to get them out.........and a bit (or lot) of heat from a blowlamp will help if it doesn't want to move.

Make sure you remove all traces of the old jointing gasket from the heater boss before you fit the new heater (a new gasket comes with the heater)

Thanks very much for that. It's an old Hercal cylinder. How do they work as there is actually no power supply running to the cylinder itself, just the external component. I can't really understand it. :?: :(

Hi there, basically, big copper cylinder with lots of pipes going in/out of it and on one of those pipes is this external component. It's about a foot in height and 4inches diameter. I think this must heat the water before it goes into the tank. I'm confused!! :?